Cold Tea
by Shizuka Aralia
Summary: "I just totally love cold tea! Don't you?" Toris had lived in Mr. Braginski's house for some time now. How would his depressing life change when Feliks is brought there as well? AU TorisXFeliks


AN: Hello everyone! I am Shizuka Aralia and this is my first fanfiction! Please let me know what you think and if I made any mistakes please let me know! Thank you! I do not own any of the characters in this story. All characters belong to Hidekazu Himaruya.

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><p>"I just totally love cold tea! Don't you?" Feliks' repeated phrase always made me sad. I know he said it to keep from crying. To keep me from becoming upset as well. However when he said those words my throat closed up and I couldn't speak. I was forced to give him a dumb nod while trying to fight back that sense of dread that always seemed to surface. By now I shouldn't have felt so much dread at our actions. We hadn't been caught yet, and as long as we continued the way we were everything would be alright. Wouldn't it?<p>

I thought back to when I first met Feliks. I had been working in Mr. Braginski's house for over two years. My parents had no money to feed the nine children they ended up with. As younger ones were born the older ones were... sold. No, there was no other word for it. My parents had sold me to Mr. Braginski. In their minds surely they thought they were doing the right thing. This way they would be able to feed their younger children, and at the same time they were giving me food and a place to live. Unfortunately they had not heard of Mr. Braginski, and when I went to live in his house at the age of twelve I realized that not everyone in the world was as kind as I had thought. Though he beat me regularly he luckily never advanced upon me in any other way. He saved that for another servant, one with long black hair worn in a ponytail. The boy was at least five years older than me, and to my surprise Yao seemed to... well enjoy Mr. Braginski's company. He did treat him differently than the rest of us though. He never raised a violent hand towards him. Still though I would not have traded the beatings for his other attentions. If I kept my head down they wouldn't be too bad. I had soon grown accustomed to the violence, and though this worried me I soon found it was very useful. The pain hurt less and less, but my anxiety grew more everyday. I couldn't stop the nervous fits that would overtake me at night as I lay in my bed. While trying to sleep everything seemed to crash down on me at once my chest would tighten. This too though I became accustomed to.

Two years after I had arrived at the house Mr. Braginski brought home a new servant. The boy seemed to be my age and had lovely shoulder length blonde hair. He held himself with confidence despite his ragged clothing. The shirt he wore hung loosely on his thin frame. As underfed as the boy was his hips seemed almost feminine and his shoulders were smaller than my own. I was in awe of him. He who seemed to posses all of the self-assurance I lacked. I was instantly attracted to him. With a light blush I thought how much like a regal prince he looked... and then he spoke and I received a shock.

"You like expect me to live here? Yuck!"

I believe my mouth dropped open. Actually I'm almost positive it did. How could I help it though? The prince's words were the exact opposite of what I expected. Instead of the calm formal words my mind had given being to, the reality was... well I actually didn't know what speech like that was... I soon began to love that voice and his odd way of speaking. He could be so serious and yet the next minute he spouted words that I never had heard or expected to hear. The next occurrence that day though was one I expected. To my dismay Mr. Braginski slapped the boy's beautiful feminine face with the back of his hand. "You will enjoy living here, Да?"

"Д-Да..." After a minute of shocked silence my prince stuttered back to him in Russian. The giant turned to me speaking in a dismissive tone. "Toris, show him where he will be living." He said this as if I knew. Where would the boy go? Though the house was expansive, the rooms for the servants were all full.

"S-sir... Where would that be?..." I usually managed to sound frightened enough to please him. It wasn't difficult when I actually was terrified of the man. "Put him wherever. With you. Дa. That will do fine." He waved the two of us off and walked in the direction of the kitchen. I was sure he would find some vodka and then go on to find Yao...

Shaking off the thoughts that were bound to follow that sentence I turned to my prince. He looked... very bored. He was studying his nails casually, but when I looked over he lifted his eyes. Dropping his delicate hand to his side, wide grin broke out on his face and I found mine flushed with an unfamiliar heat. "You're pretty cute. I'm Feliks." He said as he leaned forward to study me. His face was uncomfortably close to mine and his eyes, though soft, showed he was watching everything I did taking it all in. "I'm... Toris...Um...Please come this way... I'll show you... our room." I normally don't have that much trouble speaking. However, with him watching me like that while I had to say 'our room' I became quite flustered. "Totally." was the only response I received as he took my hand and waited for me to lead the way. I did so after a minute- after restarting my brain once the shock of his warm soft hand in mine wore off slightly.

Over the next several years we shared everything. From his first night in the house we cuddled close in my bed for warmth since there was nowhere else for him to sleep. I must admit though having his warm body next to mine as I slept was comforting. It had been so long since I had slept next to my siblings that I had forgotten the comfort of another close-by. What I did not understand was why my heart was beating so quickly and my palms were sweating. Feliks had looked so calm and strong through the evening as I explained everything. I could not understand how he could act as though this was normal. Surely his family had sold him as mine had. The country was going through an economic depression, but somehow men like Mr. Braginski managed to make more money. Because of this he was able to take advantage of families like mine. I wanted to ask Feliks what had happened to him but I held back. Who knows if he would still smile like that if I did...

A few of the other servants came to look at him with curiosity before bed. Raivis started babbling, as he does when he gets nervous, while Eduard simply stared with a bored expression. Eduard had been there much longer than I had, though Raivis had joined the household a year before. After a few minutes of Feliks and Raivis' chatter Eduard rolled his eyes and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He reached out and pulled the younger boy out of the room with a "Goodnight." Feliks seemed to like them both, and for a few minutes seemed happy after they had left. Soon though Mr. Braginski came... to see how Feliks liked the house. At least that is what he said. I knew from my first night and Raivis' first night that this was when he chose to remind you who you were... and who he was.

After the beating he threw Feliks back into the room. "Спокойной ночи." he said with a childlike laugh and a wave of his hand. How could the man laugh like that after what he did? That laugh sometimes haunted my dreams and I would wake up in a cold sweat. I stared in horror at the figure laying on my floor. It didn't look like Feliks was bleeding anywhere, but he had not moved and I was worried... "Toris..." His voice was pitiful. So quiet it could not have been the voice of my prince. But it was. I knelt at his side and helped lift him to a sitting position. His beautiful lip was split and swelling. The soft cheek I had admired earlier that day had a growing bruise and he held his arm gingerly. His eyes drew my attention first however, as I saw the tears beginning to spill from them. This was my fault. Why hadn't I warned him? How could I let this happen to someone so wonderful? In my selfishness I had been too focused on watching him. Too focused on taking in every detail of this new light in my life. The only light. "Feliks I am so sorry... I..."

"Like don't apologize Toris." He tried to laugh but it came out weak and tired. "None of this is your fault. I just... I thought maybe it would be alright in the end..." We didn't talk the rest of the night. Instead we readied for bed. I helped him into an extra pair of bed clothes I had, being weary not to hurt his arm. For a minute Feliks swayed on his feet and stared at the door. Before I could say anything though he slipped into bed quietly next to me. For a while he laid facing the wall, but soon I saw his shoulders shaking and he turned in bed to face me. I never saw his tears but I felt them soak my thin night shirt as he buried his face in my chest. I awkwardly put my arms around him not sure if he would want that or not. When he did not pull away I relaxed... somewhat. As his breathing slowed I sighed in relief. He was taking everything much better than I had. I had slept alone my first night though... Soon he had fallen asleep and I was left to myself. Once my mind was no longer focused on how upset he was, I remembered where we were. Actually how we were more specifically. This was where I met my sweaty palms. Since they were a new occurrence I didn't know what to make of them. I assumed it was because I was so warm all of a sudden. Even though I'd been cold earlier... I was suddenly rather overheated. Odd. Eventually I drifted off to sleep and dreamed of Feliks in splendid clothing. He was dressed like a prince with a deep green velvet jacket which brought out the green of his eyes. Feliks walked towards me and I realized I was still wearing my rags. I wanted to call out to him. To tell him he shouldn't come near me. Surely I would dirty him if he came to close. The prince shook his head as though he could read my thoughts. Feliks reached his hand out to me and smiled the most stunning smile I had ever seen.

Over the years we have grown so close I shudder to remember how alone I was before Feliks swept into the house. He has truly saved me. In every way. Every time he speaks my heart melts a little bit. My days have not been so difficult since he has come. And with the extra pair of hands, especially such an energetic pair, the work gets done much quicker. When I can keep him focused that is. "Liet!" A yell sounded from behind me. I actually liked the nickname Feliks had given me when I had told him I was Lithuanian. "How do you say that in your language? In Polish it's Litwa."

"Lietuva." I replied, happy that he was interested. He repeated it several times until he shouted, a little too loud for my liking, "Liet! It's like totally wicked!" At the time I was stunned by the outburst, but every time he called me Liet his voice softened in a way I loved. "Are you like finished yet? I'm totally hungry and the cook should have set out our food by now. I saw Mr. Braginski go into the dining room with Yao already. Pleeeaaaassse? I'm like starving!" After flipping his blond hair over his shoulder he crossed his arms. With a sigh I set down the cloth I had been using to polish Mr. Braginski's shoes. "Yes I just finished. But please don't yell so loudly... Mr. Braginski will be very upset if you disturb his dinner..." Feliks didn't respond, instead he grabbed my hand and pulled me all the way to the kitchen. He smiled the whole way.

But where we were today. That was Feliks's fault too. One night as we were laying in bed he whispered to me "Sometimes I dream that we live together in a house like this... Just the two of us. And we have tea time too. You dress in a handsome suit and I am wearing a beautiful green dress..." I had long since grown accustomed to him talking about wearing women's clothing. The first time he had told me about his secret love I had been dumbstruck. I did not see the appeal at all. Why would you want to wear something like that? It looked complicated and confusing... Several months later however he had uncovered an old dress in a back closet which had once belonged to Natalya, Mr. Braginski's younger sister. I had never met her but Eduard had know her. He said she had been insane and had killed herself when Mr. Braginski wouldn't marry her. I shuddered and had thanked God that I had never met her. She sounded terrifying. Mr. Braginski had Eduard put all of her things into one closet and hadn't opened it since then. He never spoke of her, and the closet was in a part of the house he never went into. Eduard said Mr. Braginski felt guilty about her death and hadn't thrown out anything of hers. When Feliks had shooed me out of our room one night I was upset. I was tired and nursing several bruises Mr. Braginski had given me because one of his favorite shirts had gotten a hole in it. It wasn't my fault, but I still received the punishment for it. "Feliks let me back in... I'm tired and my side hurts... Please?"

"Like hold on a minute! Trust me!" How many times had I heard those words? Too many to count. I always did trust him in the end though. Sometimes it worked out and his crazy plans led us to something wonderful and fun. Once while Mr. Braginski was out for the day Feliks had taken me to the edge of Mr. Braginski's land and we looked out at the fields. Feliks had...stolen... two strawberry pastries from the kitchen and now he pulled them out of his pocket. "Here Liet! Aren't I like the best?" I had not had a pastry since... I was very little. Most likely five or six. My mouth watered as I took the pastry. "Yes Feliks. You are." He had beamed when I said that. It was the truth. It still is. However... the other times his plans ended in horrible beatings where we cried together all night trying to ignore the pain. I couldn't ever blame Feliks though. He was just being himself and trying to help me. I knew his crazy ideas all started because he wanted to make me smile. He had told me once how he loved when I smiled. "Your real smile is so like... handsome! It only happens when you aren't scared though..." He trailed off with a far away look in his eyes. In a moment though he had perked back up and with no warning had leaned over and kissed me on my lips. My eyes widened so much that I believed they might pop out. He had kissed me before. That had always been on the cheek though. Quick little kisses when I was down or when he was happy. Little innocent things that I could brush off as friendship. Soon though the warmth of his lips made my eyes slide shut in pleasure and I leaned into him without realizing it. After a moment more he broke the kiss and stared at me with another smile. One so bright it was the sun. I smiled too and he whispered "There it is..."

Right then however I was not in the mood to deal with another scheme. I wanted sleep. I needed sleep. When the door finally opened however my brain had forgotten its need and went completely blank. There was Feliks, my handsome prince, standing before me in a faded gray dress. He had tied a matching ribbon in his hair and blushed slightly as he pushed a rouge lock out of his eyes... "Soooo...What do you think Liet?" I walked into the room and shut the door. He looked... beautiful. Radiant. More lovely than he had ever looked before. My beautiful princess. "You are lovely Feliks." I whispered not being able to think of anything better to say to tell him what I thought. This seemed to be enough though and he leapt forward almost knocking me over in a hug. "I was like so worried you'd think I was ugly or something!" His voice carried the faint sound of fear I had trained myself to recognize. I held him close and whispered in his ear. "Never. You are always beautiful Feliks." I was rewarded with kisses.

The night we lay in bed and he told me of his dream the idea of us together... it only made me sad. I knew we would never have that. We would never even have our own home. I couldn't ruin his dream though and so as he trailed off I knew I had to keep him talking for both our sakes. Tonight I didn't want him to cry. "What is it like?"

"Like completely lovely!" My words seemed to cheer him and he began to ramble in that adorable fast pace of his. I could see his hands waving as he talked in the dark of our room. "We have a big round wooden table like the one downstairs in the sitting room. Ours has pictures carved in it though- roses and birds and vines. And you sit and read the paper like a proper gentleman while I pour our tea. And-this is my favorite part-we drink our tea in that lovely tea set Yao got Mr. Braginski to buy, the one with the light little roses painted all over it." I knew that Felix loved that tea set. We weren't allowed near it, our jobs were mostly to clean, but we had glimpsed it before and Felix had fallen in love with it. Mr. Braginski used it everyday now because Yao liked it. Over the past year Yao had stopped having to work and even spent his nights in Mr. Braginski's room. I hated the thought of this but Mr. Braginski had become less violent since then, and so I couldn't help but sigh in happiness when I saw Yao retire upstairs instead of going to the rooms in the basement where the servants stayed. Felix still stayed with me though. We never considered him taking the now empty room.

"I'd love that Feliks." I said into his hair as he curled up next to me, my arms wrapped around him. "Mmm." He sighed into my chest. "So would I..." Suddenly he sat straight up and his eyes sparkled with a glint I knew all to well. Trouble. "It would like totally be awesome wouldn't it?"

I thought he had forgotten whatever ridiculous scheme he had planned that night. However almost a year later I groaned as he began explaining to me how he would make our dream come true. And least in part.

Because the rose tea set had been used so often Mr. Braginski had bought a second one. It was beginning to fade and Mr. Braginski wanted Yao to be happy with his favorite set. Something that wasn't perfect was not good enough for his beloved. With this new golden piece of information Feliks decided it was time to make his move. The old tea set was stored in a back cabinet in the kitchen and Feliks believed he could... well steal two cups and saucers without any notice. He believed the tea pot would be too noticeable and so he decided we could do without that. That night he had sneaked out of our bed without a word. Naive me, I thought he had simply gone to the bathroom. I dozed off and then awakened some time later. When I realized he wasn't next to me I began to panic. How long had he been gone? Just as I was starting to hyperventilate and leap out of bed thinking Mr. Braginski had done something to him, he opened the door and slipped into our room. Though he was trying to be quiet, he was giggling and it ruined the effect. "Where have you been?" I hissed attempting to keep my voice down.

"Like calm down Liet!" was the hushed answer I was given. My eyes finally fell on what he was holding and I think my heart stopped. Yes. Yes it did. Because there in my princess' arms were two delicate rose tea cups and saucers. "Feliks!" I almost yelled but somehow managed to keep my voice quiet enough. I hoped. "Now we can have tea!" He giggled and set the cups daintily upon the saucers leaving them on the tiny table we had next to our bed. Before I could respond he pulled something out of his pocket which I recognized as a tin of tea. With a wink he set it down and slipped out of the room again. He returned with a pitcher of water and began to make cold tea in those two perfect cups. Feliks hummed lightly and swayed his hips as he worked and I simply sat back and watched him. How could one human be so perfect? How could this boy who was in a terrible situation just as I was hum like this and be so... content? I was angry with myself then. I wanted his dream to come true. For real. I wanted to be drinking tea from our OWN tea set in our OWN home. I wanted him to wear his OWN dress. I felt my hands begin to shake as tears formed at the corners of my eyes and I fought to be calm. One day. I promised myself that then. One day I will make that happen. I will make my beautiful Feliks happy with my own two hands. He suddenly turned and handed me a cup. "I just totally love cold tea! Don't you?" That was the first time I had heard him say that. At the time it had made me happy and I smiled at him. He reached over and wiped the tears from my eyes. "There it is..." He whispered kissing my cheek before he began to sip his tea.

Now though as I sit and look at him sipping the 'tea' in Natalya's old dress I can't hold back the anger and hurt that is forming in my chest. So long ago I promised to make his dream happen and I haven't gotten any closer. My hands started to shake and I put the tea cup down for fear of dropping it. That would surely break Feliks' heart. "Liet?..." His voice hasn't been that quiet in a while now. Not since the last time Mr. Braginski beat him... so many months now... I closed my eyes fighting the feelings that I couldn't control. I heard him set his tea cup down as well. "Liet..." A hand lightly gripped my chin and pulled it up so that when I opened my eyes I stared directly into his. "I'm sorry Feliks..." My voice was weak as I muttered my apology. "I just... I want so badly for your dream to come true... I wanted so badly for you to be happy... and I... I failed Feliks. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me." I couldn't hold back any longer and burst into tears. Burying my face into his shoulder I let go of all the hurt and frustration I had been holding in for so long. Feliks didn't say a word. Instead he held me tightly, rocking me back and forth to sooth me. It worked and slowly the tears stopped and my breath slowed. I stayed there against his warm shoulder. He made me feel so safe. My anxiety had eased now. I rarely had panic attacks and when I did Feliks would suddenly become serious and hold me gently until they passed.

"Liet... How can I tell you? I am happy. I am Liet."

Wiping my nose messily on my sleeve, something I normally never do, I looked at him in disbelief. "But we don't have a house. We don't have a tea set Feliks. We're stuck here... What if I never get you out?"

Soft hands rested on my cheeks and those gentle loving eyes of his teared up. "I like don't need all that junk Liet. I just want to be with you. I like... love you Liet."

My brain had stopped. This time for good. I was sure of it. I should have known from the kisses and the way he held me. The way he looked at me. Hearing those words coming out of those perfect lips though made my whole world come to a halt. "You... love me?"

Suddenly he was back to his normal self and rolled his green eyes. "Duh Liet. Like how dense are you?" Normally I would have stuttered at this. I would have tried to defend myself. Right now though?...

"I love you too Feliks." It came out without any hesitation. I knew from the moment I said it that it was the truth and I felt... elated. Those words were perfect for Feliks. For my princess who drank cold tea and danced around in a faded gray dress.

"Then I'm happy Liet. That's all I need. Everything else is like... not important." He smiled that sun smile and I couldn't stop myself. I leaned in and kissed him.

Someday I will set him free from this house. Someday I will get us a home of our own. And when that day comes the first thing I am buying is a delicate tea set with little pink roses painted on it.

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><p>Translations:<p>

Дa- Yes

Спокойной ночи- Goodnight

AN: Thank you for your time! Please review!


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